Blogging Archive

10 WordPress Plugins You Can’t Miss

When it comes to using WordPress, nothing beats plugins. They make our lives easier by doing the things we don’t want to. They add features that aren’t included in WordPress and overall make our blogs (and lives) better.

I decided it was time to share some of the best WordPress plugins I have been using here on Life of Justin. Some of you may already be using a lot of these but I figured it wouldn’t hurt to mention them.

So check them out and give them a try:

1. …

Where Is Your Blog Going?

One of the toughest obstacles I have had in my blogging journey is trying to pick a direction. It’s really difficult to decide on a path and stick to it.

When I first started blogging, it was more of a diary where I shared my stories, drunken adventures, and cubicle rants. Since then, my blog has evolved a few times.

Finding A Direction

Over the last few weeks, I have really taken some time to sit down and think of a direction. I knew …

What Do Your Business Cards Say About You?

When it comes to promoting a blog or website, there is nothing better than some good ol’ fashion business cards. They give people a quick impression and provide some valuable information about who you are. However, it’s very important to take a look at your cards and ask yourself what they say about you.

Above is two new designs I had printed for my freelance website, ZoopMedia.com.

Business Cards Are An Important Tool

A business card says a lot about a person. The more unique and creative a card is, the more likely that person is unique and creative. It also gives a first impression that can last a lifetime, especially if you give it to someone you may never see in person again. That card might sit on someones desk for a long time and create an image in their head.

Life As A Freelance Blogger

First off, thanks for checking out the first ever podcast here on Life of Justin! I really hope you enjoy it. For each podcast, I will feature the mp3 link along with the built in player. Simply click the play button and you’re good to go.

I will also try my best to type of the podcast or include some notes. That way if you don’t have speakers or a place to listen, you can still read it. As my podcast get longer (which they will), I will most likely start summarizing them instead of writing them out in full.

Anyways, lets get started. Click read more below to listen to the podcast.

Read It Instead:

As you all know, I quit my office job back in October and have not had a job since. Its been a long and winding road ever since then. When I first quit, I had a full-time blogging position with a company here in Phoenix. I got paid to write blog posts, market the blog, and do all the design work. This was a great step in the right direction because it gave me the income I needed to live off of and still let me work from home.

A New Look For A New Year

Right before 2009 came around, I had the idea of redesigning my blog to celebrate a new year of blogging. Unfortunately, I was swamped the last few weeks with freelance work and didn’t get around to it.

But over the last 25 hours I have managed to put together a brand new look for Life of Justin. I’m pretty much ready to go to sleep at this point for the next 15 hours or so…

Why The Change?

Ever since changing to my last theme, I have been chopping my theme up to the point where I hardly even knew what was going on. I had a ton of templates for each category and different sidebars. Instead of cleaning it up, I just wanted to dump the thing and start fresh.

Time To Announce My New Blog

Well everyone, it feels like just the other day I was writing a post about my new photoblog. Today, I would like to share another blog I have been working on.

Introducing BlogHelp.org

My new new blog is going to be a place to find blog tips and tutorials. I have spent a large amount of time on blogging and have jotted down notes along the way of things I have used to make this blog better. I will cover everything from the basics of blogging to the more advanced things like tinkering with Wordpress. My goal is to share it all with everyone.

The Newsletter

The BlogHelp newsletter is going to feature blog tips, advice, and secrets. I will send out a new edition as often as I can and it will try to include the best blog tips I can find. The best part of all, is the free book that I am giving away for signing up. It’s a book about how to get more traffic from leaving blog comments. It’s over 20 pages long and has already helped a few bloggers.

The Power Of Guest Posting

One technique to gain more visibility for your blog is guest posting. By placing a post on someone else’s blog, you are putting yourself in front a whole new audience. This past weekend, I was lucky enough to get a guest post on Problogger. I wanted to share my guest posting experience and the results I got from it.

A Slight Traffic Boost

As soon as my guest post went up on Saturday, I started to notice a spike in traffic. I managed to get over 300 referrals from Problogger over the last two days. I also saw more traffic coming from other sources such as Twitter.

It’s true that this amount of traffic is kind of small compared to other sources such as StumbleUpon. However, I think this traffic is much more targeted and much more likely to become a daily reader instead of simply moving on to the next blog.

An Increase In Twitter Followers

One of the things I was not expecting was a rush of new Twitter followers. Over the last two days, I have gained more than 50 followers. My only guess as to how it happened is that people came here from Problogger and clicked the “follow me on Twitter” button on the right sidebar.

I am not sure if the followers will stick with me or not, but I have no reason to believe they won’t. So I just want to say Hey! to all my new followers.

Guest Post On Problogger

Hey everyone, hope your having a great weekend. I rarely post on weekends but I just wanted to share my guest post over at Problogger. The post, 5 Valuable Lessons You Can Learn From Blogging has received some awesome feedback so far. I am really excited about it.

Also, if your visiting from Problogger, you might want to check out my interview I did awhile back with Darren Rowse. If has some good information in it about becoming a successful blogger.

Have a great weekend and tune in on Monday for some new pictures, I just upgraded to a Nikon D80.

Map Out Blog Posts With Google Maps

A few days ago, I was looking something up on Google maps and found the ability to create custom maps. I had heard of the option before, but never took the time to screw around with it. After playing around with it, I managed to find a real cool thing you can do with it for your blog. Check it out!

View Blog Posts Based On Location

View Larger Map
Basically, you can click on any destination and it will show some of the posts I have placed in the menu.

Brand Yourself With A Twitter Background

Over the last few months, I have started to use Twitter (follow me) more and more. I think it is a great tool to stay in touch with friends, share links and information, and meet new people. I even wrote a post explaining 13 reasons you should follow me on Twitter.

The key to being popular on Twitter is setting yourself apart from everyone else. And what better way to do that then to make a sweet twitter background to customize your profile. I first noticed this in action when I saw Darren Rowse’s Twitter profile, which features a huge picture of his face in the background. It sure made his profile stick out.

Generic Backgrounds Are Lame

Although people are starting to create custom backgrounds, it is still early in the game. I still see a good portion of people using the generic backgrounds provided by Twitter. People may argue that it isn’t worth spending the time to create a custom one but I disagree. By spending a little time now, you can have a custom background up and running for some time to come. If you do it right the first time, you may never have to go back to edit it.

Besides, who wants to be normal? It’s the same concept as a MySpace page. People love to customize them because it sets them apart from everyone else. Which leads us to the next section…